I am in India!!!

We left Asheville on Wednesday at 5:15. We then left Newark at 8:30 for a 15 hour flight to Dehli. I wasn't sure what to expect - but it worked out well. I had a window seat and the seat next to me was empty so I was able to sleep about 6 hours on the flight. We arrived in New Dehli at 8:30 Thursday night (there is a 9.5 hour time difference). By the time we got to the hotel and checked in we were ready to call it a night. Comparing notes Friday morning each of us got about 6 hours of sleep. So far I don't feel effects of the time change. It is now Saturday morning and I woke up at 5:30 but that is my usual time in the states.

On Friday we had some great meetings. We started the morning early (7:30 pick up time) by going to IBM to meet with their Country Manager of Government and Education. He shared some good information on creating a technology infrastructure for education. It is interesting how everyone seems to face the same challenges. After that we went to the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) where we met with 3 instructors in the Sciences and Engineering areas. This system has 1.8 million students and over 2,000 sites in India and other countries. It was very interesting to discuss the common issues that we have in the classroom. We also talked about 3-D visualization and how it can be incorporated in the classroom. Our meetings were set up by CORE ECS who we will be visiting in Mumbai on Monday. Just the meetings on Friday have made it a great visit.

After the meetings we stopped for a late lunch (1:30) before heading to the airport. Our guide stopped at a little shopping area (no time for shopping) - where there were many Western restaurants - Ruby Tuesdays, Subway, McDonalds, etc. However, we opted for an India restaurant and had a fantastic meal - the food was even better than I remembered.

We then went to the airport to catch a plane to Agra where I am now. We will be going to the Taj Mahal and Red Fort today. It is also a time to let outselves adjust to the time change. Sunday we leave for Mumbai for the beginning of a hectic week.

The traffic is as crowded (if not more so) than I remembered. Dehli has 11 million people. I am including 2 pictures from yesterday and more pictures will be coming.